By 1968 the campaign for civil rights in Northern Ireland had moved onto the streets. It was a deliberate decision, inspired in part by global events, particularly the civil rights movement in America. 

In order to help us understand better the street politics element of the civil rights movement I have enlisted the help and expertise of Dr Melissa Baird.

 Melissa is an historian of modern Irish and American history, she currently Assistant Editor of the Documents on Irish Foreign Policy with the Royal Irish Academy. Melissa received her PhD in 2023 from Queen’s University Belfast, which examined the relationship between the Irish diaspora in the United States and the Northern Irish civil rights movement.

I began by asking Melissa to give us an insight into the thinking behind the decision to take the politics of civil rights to the streets…

This episode was produced as part of At the Crossroads: The Campaign for Civil Rights in Northern Ireland, a project developed by The Linen Hall. This project is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund and has also received financial support from the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council.

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